Give school libraries in B.C. and Yukon the gift of new books with Adopt-a-Library

Program run by the BC and Yukon Book Prizes has provided school libraries with over $100,000 worth of diverse titles since 2007

SPONSORED POST BY BC and Yukon Book Prizes

Students at Golden Secondary School enjoying the books they received as part of the 2022 Adopt-a-Library program. Photo courtesy of BC and Yukon Book Prizes

A school library is a place of wonder and adventure for a young reader. Shelves lined with books about everything from dinosaurs, to wizards, to coming-of-age journeys open kids and teens to a world beyond themselves.

Unfortunately for many schools in remote and rural communities, it is a challenge to keep new and engaging titles from diverse authors and illustrators in the library. To help overcome this hurdle, the BC and Yukon Book Prizes partners with generous community donors and school librarians through the annual Adopt-a-Library program.

Adopt-a-Library launched in 2007 with six donors supporting eight schools. Sponsors give $500, which means that $500 worth of BC and Yukon Book Prizes finalist titles are donated to a B.C. or Yukon school. To date, BC and Yukon Book Prizes have given over $100,000 worth of books by shortlisted authors and illustrators to school libraries.

Sponsored schools are able to select books that fill gaps in their collections and best suit their students. In 2022, Golden Secondary School ordered a set of Rahela Nayebzadah’s Monster Child, which was a finalist for two 2022 BC and Yukon Book Prizes. The school’s teacher librarian said the books would be used in a “novel study in senior English classes, and is such a valuable tool for teaching and learning”.

Contributions from donors allow the BC and Yukon Book Prizes to provide valuable resources to teachers, along with a source of inspiration for the region’s growing generation of youth.

“Connecting with children and teens across B.C. and Yukon is one of the most important things we do with the Book Prizes,” says Sharon Bradley, executive director of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, in a release. “These young readers will become the future finalists of regional book prizes, and it’s amazing to think that these donated books might spark the ideas of creative projects in the future.”

Interested in donating to the Adopt-a-Library program, and sponsoring a school of your choice? As a registered charity, all donors will be issued a tax receipt for the full amount of the donation.

For more information, visit the BC and Yukon Book Prizes.

Post sponsored by BC and Yukon Book Prizes.